


Count the Ways

by SerenityStargazer



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Aziraphale watches, Fluff, M/M, Other, Pining, Poetic, crowley sleeps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 05:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20168815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenityStargazer/pseuds/SerenityStargazer
Summary: Crowley sleeps while Aziraphale watches over him, thinking of all the ways he loves him.A short one-off set the night before Warlock's eleventh birthday.





	Count the Ways

Aziraphale sat in his chair, his book in his lap, watching Crowley sleep on the sofa. The evening was deep and full of silence. In his mind, where the demon could never hear, he began his song. It was a love song and he had been writing for decades now, composing in the late hours as he watched over his sleeping friend.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

_ I love thee for the words and actions I long for but you say and do _ . Remember back to the Flood? You were horrified that God was going to drown all those people, even the children. Inside, I was horrified, too, but continued to spout party line about the Ineffable Plan and all. Later that evening, as I roamed the Ark, trying to rid myself of the screams of thousands, I found you. You were curled up in your serpent form, making a nest for a small group of children. They were huddled there, using your coils as a pillow. You had saved them. While I merely watched, you acted. I am a being of Love and you are Fallen. But you were the one who acted in compassion, saving them, miracling them food and water, caring for them throughout the long voyage. I put a ring of protection around you all, making sure you were never discovered by Noah and his family. I wasn’t sure it was part of The Plan, but I was in awe that a demon could show such bravery. And I approved. I thought you...heroic.

And then, when the Antichrist was delivered and the countdown began, I sat there in despair and resignation. You...came up with a plan. A plan to bollocks up the Great Plan and let us continue here on Earth. A plan that let us work together as we saw to Warlock’s upbringing, balancing him between good and evil in the hope that, when the time came, he would turn his back on his destiny and just be...human.

Tomorrow, Warlock will turn eleven. The hell hound will be delivered. And we will see how firm our groundwork remains. But even if it all goes south, you were the one who tried to avoid it. Your questioning heart still tries to find a way to get the answers you seek.

_ I love thee for your great, kind heart _ . I know you hate it when I speak of it, but it doesn’t make it any less true. Your kindness to children, especially. The ones on the Ark. Countless children through the ages. Did you think I never noticed you slipping them food? Coins? Healing them?

And then when you became Warlock’s nanny. How patient and kind you were with him. His own parents couldn’t seem to be bothered. They were much too busy. But you were there to guide and nurture him. I know you were supposed to be the evil side of our see-saw. And you gave lip service to the joys of world domination and destruction. But your actions were full of love and support and kept him warm in the cold, chill life of a diplomat’s house.

And then there’s me. How many times did you rescue me throughout the years? If I were in distress, you were there. Laughing and mocking, but still doing whatever I needed. From indulging my desire to see Hamlet succeed to prison breaks, you were always there. And when the World War came, you walked through consecrated ground to save me...and my precious books. That’s when I knew, you know. When I realized I loved you... and that you loved me. My world was turned upside down and I couldn’t say a word. If we had acted on our feelings, we both would have been doomed. So we locked it inside, as we had done throughout the millennia. Sometimes, with the clock counting down to the End so rapidly, I think we should speak of it. What harm could it do now, when all we love is ending? Neither of us are truly warriors and our hearts are not in this battle, to be sure. I don’t see us surviving if it comes to that. But when to tell you? How to breach the walls we have built so thick and strong to protect us throughout the years?

_ I love your corporation _ . It may be silly, but I truly do. I love your flaming hair, your golden eyes, and that smirky, teasing smile that comes so easily to your lips. The way your eyes crinkle when you laugh.The way you watch me when I eat, taking your pleasure from mine. Food is always more delightful and decadent in your company, my dearest. I love your body, all angles and edges. I love your long, long legs and the hips that sway like the snake you are, capturing my eyes constantly.

I long to kiss you. I don’t see that ever happening in this brief time we have left. But, in my heart of hearts, that is my dearest desire. To be held snug in your arms, with your lips on mine. Foolish heart. Foolish desire. But I never laid claim to wisdom.

Aziraphale sighed. Crowley stirred at the sound and reached for a non-existent blanket. The angel smiled, marked his book, and stood to stretch. He grabbed the throw from the back of the sofa and settled it around the drowsy demon. He hesitated, then tucked it gently under Crowley’s chin and around his shoulder. Crowley smiled sleepily and muttered, “Thanks, Angel.”

“No problem, my dear. My love. My pleasure, actually,” Aziraphale said softly. Acting swiftly, before he could overthink it, he placed a quick kiss on top of Crowley’s tousled head and smoothed his hair from his eye. The demon sighed contentedly and snuggled deeper into the blanket. Then Aziraphale returned to his chair and his book, sitting vigilantly, guarding their hearts as best he could, singing his quiet, desperate love song that only the stars could hear.


End file.
